Mumbai : The Bombay High Court has ordered Customs to provisionally release 200 kg of Ketamine Hydrochloride, valued at about ₹72 lakh, that it had seized from Supriya Lifescience Ltd. A Bench of Justices M. S. Karnik and Sandesh D. Patil set aside Customs’ refusal to release the goods. As a condition, the company must deposit ₹72 lakh with Customs.
The consignment was meant for a South Korean buyer that had placed an export order with the company. The problem arose when the firm was delayed in securing a fresh export authorisation.
The Bench treated the delay as a technical lapse on the particular facts of the case. The order does not mean that export permissions can be ignored, or that controlled substances can be traded without proper paperwork.
What provisional release means : It is an interim measure. The goods are not cleared of regulatory scrutiny, and the Customs dispute itself is still open. The ₹72 lakh deposit acts as security until the matter is finally decided.
Why it matters : Ketamine is a legitimate medicine with recognised clinical uses, but it is also tightly controlled. Companies dealing in such substances have to satisfy drug regulations, export controls and Customs law at the same time. The ruling separates procedural irregularity from substantive illegality: a lapse in the timing or renewal of a permit is not treated the same as unlawful conduct.
The order also shows why interim relief matters commercially. A detained consignment can hold up contracts, production and export commitments long before any final verdict.
